All Decked Out: September 2011

Magic!!!

Friday, September 30, 2011 3 Comments »

My friend Kimberly is a gifted teacher, a talented quilter, a very funny lady and one of the sweetest people I know. She's also the author of a new book, Jellyroll Quilt Magic. I've made quite a few quilts from her other book focusing on precuts -- Jellyroll Quilts and More -- and have been looking forward to this new baby for quite a while.

Go check out Kimberly's website, learn a little more about her book, and sign up for a chance to win your very own copy of Jellyroll Quilt Magic.

While you are there, watch her video on the Easy Stars Wall Hanging. It's a super easy project & makes a very fast holiday table topper gift when done up in Christmas prints.

Runnerish

Sunday, September 11, 2011 3 Comments »

Phillies fans certainly remember Whitey Ashburn's term for when a baserunner looked he was going to steal a base -- he's turn to Harry Kalas and say: "Harry, he looks runnerish."

Well, I've been runnerish lately myself. Not because I'm stealing bases, but because I've been making table runners. They are a nice diversion because give me the satisfaction of seeing a finished product quickly and can be quilted on my Bernina easily. In addition, they sit right out there on the table, ready to be admired, 24/7.

The first runner was the one I made while I was on vacation. You can see it here. The second was a much smaller one that I forgot to photgraph (duh, bang head on table & groan), but which was lots of fun. It used a tool called Lil' Twister. Jackie, at Canton Village Quilt Works, has a very nice tutorial here. It was constructed with a charm pack of Awesome (Sandy Gervais, Moda). Very Fall-ish, and it now graces my DIL's dining room table. Maybe she will take a picture of it for me.

Last of the current runner crop is a version of one that I've made a number of times, each time in Christmas fabrics. It's not a super easy pattern, rather it requires some focus and attention, but the results are worth it. I used a pattern by Terry Atkinsion called Hollywood Boulevard. Atkinson Designs produces a whole bunch of great patterns, with excellent instructions. You might remember the famous Zippy Strippy bags -- those are from one of her patterns as well. Anyway, here is the pattern:

And here is my latest version:

I'm not usually one for fabrics with metalic accents, but really like them for these Christmas table runners. This particular runner is for my daughter, who was bemoaning the fact that "Mom, everyone has one but me"; hers is the 4th I've done so far. I have one more to make, a present for my nephew's up-coming engagement party. Betcha that one won't be the last, though.